Bad news for Dungeons and Dragons collectors outside the USA – due to “unforeseen circumstances”, you will have to wait at least a month longer to get your hands on the alternate cover version of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Wizards of the Coast copped to the delay in a blog post on Monday.
The regular version of the new PHB is going to arrive in line with the published DnD release schedule, available on September 17 from all retailers, and September 3 from friendly local game stores. The alternate cover will be available in North America on those dates. But DnD fans with an eye for beauty in the rest of the world will have to wait a month or more:
- UK and Europe: October 18.
- Australia: October 24.
- New Zealand and South East Asia: October 31.
Wizards notes that these are just the projected dates the books will be available. If the alternate cover versions arrive with stockists early, stores are allowed to sell them any time from September 17.
As is tradition for DnD books at this point, alternate art covers will be available for all the books in the new edition. The alternate cover for the Player’s Handbook, which depicts a massive golden dragon warming a tea kettle for some tired adventurers, has deeply cosey vibes.
The point of a cover is to let people judge a book (in spite of any aphorisms to the contrary), and this alt art really emphasises the communal and friendly aspects of DnD, and its growing popularity as a general nerd social activity.
Not all the alternate covers are hits: we’re rather down on the alternate Monster Manual cover, which renders an iconic DnD monster without context or menace.
Of course, it’s what inside that counts. The DnD rules in the 2024 PHB are substantially different to fifth edition, but that’s the result of thousands of tiny changes rather than a few big ones. All the DnD classes have been overhauled, DnD races play a less central role in character building, and DnD backgrounds have taken on increased importance.
Team Wargamer has been testing the new edition for several weeks now: find out what we think in our DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook review.
Source: Wargamer
